At the end of Session 6 we asked you to make your own fear ladder and start ‘Testing the Water’.
- The point of the Fear ladder was to make you think about the kinds of things you find difficult and to help you to make an action plan of how to deal with these problems.
- The point of the ‘Testing the Water’ exercise was to get you on the way to coping with the situations you find fearful. Fear Ladders are there to help you practice ‘Testing the water’ safely and at your own speed.
- Don’t worry if you didn’t manage to complete the first step of your ladder, everyone has to work at their own pace, and as long as you tried that’s all that matters.
- The more you try the easier it’ll become. Please remember though not to go up the steps too quickly. If you found this first stage easy, then that’s great, but give yourself time to practice each level and feel really comfortable with it before moving on to the next step.
- As you go up the ladder, you’ll find ‘Testing the Water’ more difficult, so take things slowly. Remember to practice the relaxation techniques as well. These really will help you.
Finally, it’s a good idea to get support from a friend or family member who you trust to go along with you when you test the water. This is entirely up to you, but it can make the process less scary.
Testing the Water can be quite a nerve-wracking experience and to make sure that you’re happy and comfortable with this activity we’ll take some time to go over it together. Here are some questions to answer about your experiences of Testing the Water.
Testing Water
Did you find it difficult to make your own fear ladder ?
1 = Not at all difficult | 10 = Really very difficult
Please rate your anxiety about doing the 1st step of your ladder on the 10 point scale below, where 1 is very mild and ten is so extreme you can’t bear it.
1 = Not at all difficult | 10 = Really very difficult
Did you ask someone for help and support when you tried the first step of the ladder?
Show me my scoring on Testing Water
If you scored between 1-6, then this means that you found the ‘Testing the Water’ activity quite easy. If this is the case, then you’re probably ready to move onto step 2 of your ladder, but remember not to go too fast. Take things slowly and gently.
If you scored between 7-12, this means that you found it quite difficult to do the 1st step on your ladder and need to practice it a bit before moving on to step 2.
If you scored between 13 or above, then maybe you need to rethink your ladder. The 1st step of the ladder shouldn’t be that difficult, and if you are finding it that hard to get started, then perhaps you need to consider an easier starting point.
Go back to your ladder and think of something that is even less scary for you than what you have at step 1.
If you did get someone to help you, this is a great idea. It always helps to have some support when testing the water.
If you didn’t ask for help, then that’s fine too. If you felt too embarrassed to ask for support, then there are always other support services, like Changing Faces who will be happy to talk through your experiences with you, even though they can’t be there to support you in person.
Relaxation Skills
How helpful did you find the anxiety beating skills in helping you to cope with the homework assignment? Please rate their helpfulness on a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 = not at all helpful and 10 = really very helpful indeed.
1 = Not at all helpful | 10 = Really very helpful indeed
Show me my scoring on Relaxation Skills
If you scored between 1-3 then maybe you need to practice the technique a bit more. Not all of the techniques will work for everyone, but with 6 to choose from you should be able to find at least one that helps. But remember, you do have to practice the techniques to get the most out of them.
If you scored 4-7 then although you probably need to practice the anxiety beating skills more at home, you’re well on your way to successfully testing the water!
If you scored 8 or over, then this is great! The anxiety beating skills are an important part of testing the water, so mastering these will really help you in the future.
Anxiety
Now please rate your anxiety about attempting the 2nd step of your ladder, where 1 = not at all anxious and 10 = really very anxious indeed.
1 = Not at all anxious | 10 = Really very anxious indeed
Show me my scoring on Anxiety
If you scored 1 to 3, then you are ready to go to the 2nd step of your ladder – congratulations!
If you scored 4-7 then you may want to think about practising the 1st step a couple more times before going on to step 2. Remember not to push yourself too hard.
If you scored 8 or over, then you really must keep trying step 1. Until you have managed to reduce your anxiety about attempting the 2nd step, then it is best to stay practising the 1st step. Don’t worry if you find the step 2 too much at this point. You’ve only tried step 1 for a week, so there is plenty of time to get used to that before you move on to step 2.
Congratulations on completing Session 6’s activities!
It’s very important to try and practice what you’ve learnt between sessions, and by having a go, you’re well on the way to success with Face IT.
Hopefully you’ll have found it useful and will understand the point behind it. If you struggled with it or you’re not sure what the point of it was try having another go. If you’re still not sure please email the Face IT team
How helpful did you find the activities in session 6?
Please take a couple of minutes to fill out the questionnaire below.
Thanks for completing this questionnaire
We hope that you found the activity helpful. If you would like to give us more feedback about it then please enter your opinions in the box below.
